45% of Japanese want ‘comfort women’ statement reviewed, survey by Jiji Press suggests

JIJI

More than 40 percent of Japanese think the country’s 1993 statement on the “comfort women” wartime prostitution system should be reviewed, a Jiji Press survey suggested on Friday.

In the interview-based survey, 45.1 percent of respondents agreed with the idea of reviewing the statement issued by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, while 32.6 percent said the government should uphold it.

In the statement, Tokyo acknowledged the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army was involved in the recruiting of comfort women, a euphemism for women and girls who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels.

The survey also found that 42.7 percent of respondents supported the notion of regulating hate speech by law, compared with the 36.2 percent who did not see a need to do so.

The survey was conducted for four days through Monday with 2,000 adults across Japan. Valid responses were received from 64.1 percent of those surveyed.

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  • tiger

    seems the right wing in japan is doing well.

    • rossdorn

      Which other wings is there?

      • Oliver Mackie

        Didn’t you hear? There’s a left-wing conspiracy at Kyoto University. I heard as many as three students are involved!

    • Oliver Mackie

      Or maybe ‘the right wing’ is actually more in tune with the Japanese population.

      • tiger

        it certainly looks that way. hence we all like Germans far better.

      • Oliver Mackie

        Actually, reliable figures show that Germany has 10 times as many right-wing extremists than Japan, per capita.

      • tiger

        at least they don’t have an SS memorial that Merkel visits. at least right wing extremists are illegal there.

      • Oliver Mackie

        Not illegal in Germany. Only certain symbols and certain statements are outlawed, and those laws don’t seem to have reduced the incidence of extremism do they? Even the most conservative estimates, which the German police and secret service claim need to be revised upwards, put the numbers of murders committed by German extremists at 60 in the past 40 years. Some experts believe the actual number could be as high as 7-800, based on actual murders committed but not until recently clearly linked to extremists.
        In Japan I know of only one case of attempted murder, but do not have figures and would be happy to hear from anyone who does.
        Describing Yasukuni shrine as a memorial dedicated to a particular branch of the military is totally off the mark.

      • Oliver Mackie

        Not illegal in Germany. Only certain symbols and certain statements are outlawed, and those laws don’t seem to have reduced the incidence of extremism do they? Even the most conservative estimates, which the German police and secret service claim need to be revised upwards, put the numbers of murders committed by German extremists at 60 in the past 40 years. Some experts believe the actual number could be as high as 7-800, based on actual murders committed but not until recently clearly linked to extremists.
        In Japan I know of only one case of attempted murder, but do not have figures and would be happy to hear from anyone who does.
        Describing Yasukuni shrine as a memorial dedicated to a particular branch of the military is totally off the mark.

      • tiger

        you may try to wash it as white as possible – but 1. citing german right wing does not give japan any excuses and 2. we see yasukuni as pitch black. history deniers are only fooling themselves and no one else.

      • Oliver Mackie

        1. Of course not.

        2. We means you and….?

      • rossdorn

        ..the majority of sane people?

      • Oliver Mackie

        No I think (s)he was claiming to speak on behalf of the whole Chinese nation….

  • Testerty

    If the Japanese want to change the 1993 statement on the “comfort women”, they should bring back those people from 1993 who said it and make them change their mind.

  • anoninjapan

    And whose idea was it to review this statement?….i doubt mr tanaka in the street or mrs yamaguchi one day woke up and thought..hey you know what, i think we should review this agreement/statement.

    Utter nonsense.

    It is yet again Abe trying to rewrite history. The more he tries this, the more he’ll alienate Japan from those he seeks to covet and be part of their international ‘club’.